Abstract
Cognition concerns how humans reflect the real world in which they live. It is a complex issue because humans can transcend simple perception and can therefore evoke a nonpresent situation or even create a new one. Most often the concern of the psychoanalyst is how humans distort their world because of past experiences. Reality has been penetrated and known by humans through ever-advancing technology, the ultimate aim of which is perfecting the perception and the knowledge of the world. The reality external to the individual is called objective, and that reality mapped on the basis of the individual’s experience is called subjective. Subjective cognition comprises the knowledge not only of external reality, but also of the part of reality which we call internal and which constitutes the individual himself. The word cognition has a scientific connotation as opposed to terms such as consciousness, spirit or soul; it derives from the Latin prefix co which means ‘together, with,’ and gnoscere: ‘to come to know’. Implicit in the word cognition is the fact that knowledge is always a relationship. Dialectically, modern science has emphasized relationships as opposed to the old focus on isolated things or parts. Epistemology is the theory of the nature and grounds of knowledge and paradigms are the patterns followed by it.
Adam knew Eve, his wife, and she conceived.
—Genesis 4:1
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Barbut M. Le sens du mot structure en mathematiques. Les Temps Modernes, 1966, 246, 791–814.
Bruner, J. The course of cognitive growth. American Psychologist, 1964, 19, 1–15.
Freud, S. The interpretation of dreams. In The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud (Vols. 4–5 ). London: Hogarth Press, 1900.
Hegel, G. W. Fenomenologia del espiritu. Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Economica, 1966.
Homey, K. The neurotic personality of our times. New York: Norton, 1937.
Homey, K. New ways in psychoanalysis. New York: Norton, 1939.
Homey, K. Self analysis. New York: Norton, 1942.
Homey, K. Our inner conflicts. New York: Norton, 1945.
Homey, K. Neurosis and human growth. New York: Norton, 1950.
Inhelder, B., & Piaget, J. The growth of logical thinking from childhood to adolescence. New York: Basic Books, 1958.
Kuhn, T. S. The structure of scientific revolutions. (2nd ed.) Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970.
Lacan, J. La Instancia de la letra en el inconsciente, o la razon desde Freud, en Escritos 1. Mexico City: Siglo Vientiuno Editores, 1971.
Lacan, J. Escritos II. (3rd ed.) Mexico City: Siglo Veintiuno Editores, 1978.
Luria, A. Language and cognition New York: Wiley, 1982.
Marx, K. Capital. New York: International Publishers, 1967.
Rendon, M. The structures of character. Unpublished manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1985 Plenum Press, New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Rendon, M. (1985). Cognition and Psychoanalysis. In: Mahoney, M.J., Freeman, A. (eds) Cognition and Psychotherapy. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-7562-3_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-7562-3_11
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-7564-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-7562-3
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive